cslinger
Member
File this one under why did I not just do this in the first place.
So as spelled out in this thread http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=244117 I bought I Savage Mako that turned out to be a lemon to say the least. So my dealer ordered me a CZ 452 Full Stock.
I have owned for some time a CZ 452 Varmint that has been nothing short of breathtaking in every way. It has a trigger job done to it but other then that it is bone stock and looks and shoot beautifully. The Varmint made me a 452 believer and I must say I had been lusting after an iron sighted version to add to the stable.
The CZ452 FS is a Mannlicher stocked version of the 452. The wood is Turkish walnut and in my case has a very nice grain to it. Upon reciving my FS I used a cheap set of Weaver see through rings to mount a Leupold 2x7 rimfire scope on the gun. This gives me the ability to quickly switch between irons or scope as desired.
The rifle as taken to the range can be seen below.
This report was done at 50 yards on an overcast day of about 60 degrees. There was a right to left crosswind of about 8 MPH or so.
As usual all ratings are out of 5 rounds with 5 being the best 1 being the worst.
RELIABILITY - 5 rounds
As far as I am concerned an unreliable gun is nothing more then a broken tool. I am happy to report the CZ fed, fired and extracted beautifully. No weak extraction, no left sided extraction no problems at all. The gun functioned exactly as it should.
FIT AND FINISH - 4 rounds
I personally am still amazed at the quality of firearm you get with any CZ 452 in relation to the dollar spent. Is it a Kimber or Cooper? Absolutely not but for the price of one of those you could buy 3-4 CZs. My sample gun is tight as a drum, has a nice wood grain, very even finish and just plain looks great. The bolt is a tad tight but that is to be expected in this price range and for NIB gun. If it is anything like my other example it will smooth out nicely. The safety snicks into and out of place with authority. All in all a wonderful firearm IMHO.
SIGHTS - 4 rounds
The iron sights on this gun are spectacular for a .22. They are basically military style range adjustable sights that are solid, robust and very easy to use. For a .22 rifle these things are spectacular. I am very happy with the sights. I do however prefer apetures to notch and blade type sights but that is a personal preferance.
TRIGGER - 3 rounds
Trigger out of the box is heavy but breaks so cleanly that once you get a feel for it works very well. No creep, grit or anything just a bit heavy. This can easily be remidied with a $15 trigger kit that is user installable so this is pretty much a non issue. I plan to leave this one as is since I just want a plinker not a tack driver so to speak and I am not unhappy with the trigger at all.
ACCURACY - 4 rounds
Well what can I say 50 yard groups that can be covered with a dime could be shot with aplomb. I am consistently amazed how these little Czech guns shoot. A better trigger and this thing would be a tack driver. I was using standard 40 grain CCI Mini Mags. I cannot wait to try some Wolf MT or other match ammo. I was worried about the full stock effecting accuracy but it didn't seem to, at least at 50 yards. The groups were shot using the scope. The irons worked well and came set up for a slight six o'clock hold.
3 shot group after sight in.
Many shot group into Shoot-N-See dot.
RECOIL - 5 rounds
This is a .22 rifle that feels like a real, honest to by God big gun. Recoil is non-existent.
VALUE - 5 Rounds
So what do we get for the princely sum of $400 OTD? One gets a solid quality steel firearm wrapped in very nice Turkish Walnut wood that is reliable to a fault and shoots as straight as the idiot behind the trigger can. It comes with fantastic iron sights, feels great, looks great and imparts a nice sense of pride of ownership. I just don't think there is a better .22 rifle value on the market.
GUN SNOBBERY - 2 Rounds
To those in the know CZ 452s illicit smiles and thumbs up. Owning one is almost like belonging to a secret club. To those not in the know it is just some cheap commie rifle. Personally I am just as happen to keep these things under wraps to keep costs down.
OVERALL - 5 Rounds
What can I say it is a fantastic gun for a fantastic price. I hate to sound like a broken record but if you have the question of what .22 should I buy then the 452 is it. I don't think anything currently on the market short of an Anschutz/Cooper/Good Kimber can touch it and these guns are simply in a whole nother class.
In the market for a .22 rifle, go buy yourself a CZ 452/453 you will not be dissapointed and neither will your grandkids when you pass it on to them.
So as spelled out in this thread http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=244117 I bought I Savage Mako that turned out to be a lemon to say the least. So my dealer ordered me a CZ 452 Full Stock.
I have owned for some time a CZ 452 Varmint that has been nothing short of breathtaking in every way. It has a trigger job done to it but other then that it is bone stock and looks and shoot beautifully. The Varmint made me a 452 believer and I must say I had been lusting after an iron sighted version to add to the stable.
The CZ452 FS is a Mannlicher stocked version of the 452. The wood is Turkish walnut and in my case has a very nice grain to it. Upon reciving my FS I used a cheap set of Weaver see through rings to mount a Leupold 2x7 rimfire scope on the gun. This gives me the ability to quickly switch between irons or scope as desired.
The rifle as taken to the range can be seen below.
This report was done at 50 yards on an overcast day of about 60 degrees. There was a right to left crosswind of about 8 MPH or so.
As usual all ratings are out of 5 rounds with 5 being the best 1 being the worst.
RELIABILITY - 5 rounds
As far as I am concerned an unreliable gun is nothing more then a broken tool. I am happy to report the CZ fed, fired and extracted beautifully. No weak extraction, no left sided extraction no problems at all. The gun functioned exactly as it should.
FIT AND FINISH - 4 rounds
I personally am still amazed at the quality of firearm you get with any CZ 452 in relation to the dollar spent. Is it a Kimber or Cooper? Absolutely not but for the price of one of those you could buy 3-4 CZs. My sample gun is tight as a drum, has a nice wood grain, very even finish and just plain looks great. The bolt is a tad tight but that is to be expected in this price range and for NIB gun. If it is anything like my other example it will smooth out nicely. The safety snicks into and out of place with authority. All in all a wonderful firearm IMHO.
SIGHTS - 4 rounds
The iron sights on this gun are spectacular for a .22. They are basically military style range adjustable sights that are solid, robust and very easy to use. For a .22 rifle these things are spectacular. I am very happy with the sights. I do however prefer apetures to notch and blade type sights but that is a personal preferance.
TRIGGER - 3 rounds
Trigger out of the box is heavy but breaks so cleanly that once you get a feel for it works very well. No creep, grit or anything just a bit heavy. This can easily be remidied with a $15 trigger kit that is user installable so this is pretty much a non issue. I plan to leave this one as is since I just want a plinker not a tack driver so to speak and I am not unhappy with the trigger at all.
ACCURACY - 4 rounds
Well what can I say 50 yard groups that can be covered with a dime could be shot with aplomb. I am consistently amazed how these little Czech guns shoot. A better trigger and this thing would be a tack driver. I was using standard 40 grain CCI Mini Mags. I cannot wait to try some Wolf MT or other match ammo. I was worried about the full stock effecting accuracy but it didn't seem to, at least at 50 yards. The groups were shot using the scope. The irons worked well and came set up for a slight six o'clock hold.
3 shot group after sight in.
Many shot group into Shoot-N-See dot.
RECOIL - 5 rounds
This is a .22 rifle that feels like a real, honest to by God big gun. Recoil is non-existent.
VALUE - 5 Rounds
So what do we get for the princely sum of $400 OTD? One gets a solid quality steel firearm wrapped in very nice Turkish Walnut wood that is reliable to a fault and shoots as straight as the idiot behind the trigger can. It comes with fantastic iron sights, feels great, looks great and imparts a nice sense of pride of ownership. I just don't think there is a better .22 rifle value on the market.
GUN SNOBBERY - 2 Rounds
To those in the know CZ 452s illicit smiles and thumbs up. Owning one is almost like belonging to a secret club. To those not in the know it is just some cheap commie rifle. Personally I am just as happen to keep these things under wraps to keep costs down.
OVERALL - 5 Rounds
What can I say it is a fantastic gun for a fantastic price. I hate to sound like a broken record but if you have the question of what .22 should I buy then the 452 is it. I don't think anything currently on the market short of an Anschutz/Cooper/Good Kimber can touch it and these guns are simply in a whole nother class.
In the market for a .22 rifle, go buy yourself a CZ 452/453 you will not be dissapointed and neither will your grandkids when you pass it on to them.